Talk:Tamagotchi

Release date?
The English article says 1993, the German one says 1996. Both talk about the Japanese release date... so who's lying? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.253.186.62 (talk) 14:48, 23 July 2016 (UTC)
 * , the Tamagotchi was released on 23 November, 1996 in Japan and 1 May, 1997 in the rest of the world. --Paleontologist99 (talk) 23:58, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

Forum Tamagotchi-like images?
I've run across some things that seem very Tamagotchi-like (An example: Dragon Cave )

These share some features in common with Tamagotchi (they mature, can die, and so on) and are more or less eye candy for forum signatures...Should a new article be created for things like this, or maybe just as a subnote on the Tamagotchi page (They're not really Tamagotchi themselves, they just behave in a similar way)

Or maybe I just haven't been searching for them correctly and there's already an article about them? Redwood Elf (talk) 00:50, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

More information
This is very interesting, the Tamagotchi babies, because I am at present reading up on "spirit keepers," see for example Creepyhollows.com.

And the spirits kept by practitioners of spirit-keeping remind me of Tamagotchis.

You see, you can buy vessels, from operators of spirit-keeping websites, which are the abodes of spirits, and other paraphernalia.

I must say that I really have not gotten exactly what the practitioners are into, but I came unto these folks from my research into the issue, do spirits exist or not.

And I was thinking that now with spirit-keeping, the science community can get their hands on empirical evidence of the existence and interaction of spirits with human beings – to wit, scientists should try it also.

To date however I have not seen any watchers from the skeptical establishment or scientific establishment focused on paranormal phenomena, like all kinds of communication with ghosts, spirits, demons, etc., …I have not come across any of such kinds of investigative bodies taken up with the spirit-keepers.

And I have not come across either, but I am into only research in the internet, mentions of spirit-keepers among the Christian church leaders who are keen to guard their sheep, from all kinds of dangerous involvement with spirits and their handlers. – Just my two cents worth. Pachomius2000 (talk) 04:15, 5 December 2016 (UTC)Pachomius

I remember clearly that Tamagotchi was a big fad back then. I knew some people who could recite an entire encyclopedia about Tamagotchis.. you know, different way it can atch, trivia and stuff. Shouldn't this article be expanded a little bit? I think it's a worthwhile social/pop culture phenomenon. --Fibra-Kun En 13:28, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this article definitely needs expansion. It does a poor job in describing what the Tamagotchi is about. In fact, there is virtually nothing about what it is and how it works. Thanks to the article I know that you can feed it, playing games, etc. but What is its purpose? Why do I have to tend to it, for instance? And so on Faweekee (talk) 18:51, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

Needs pictures...
There's only one picture, and it's the main one. This article might help the casual reader more if we had atleast onhe more picture... Abby724 23:14, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Formatting the Tama page
This page really needs to be changed around... for example, instead of

===Tamagotchi name===
 * FEATURE
 * FEATURE
 * FEATURE

It should be like

===Tamagotchi name= Hawainotchi

Sentence about feature. Sentence about feature. Sentence about feature.

moves very quickly.

See where I'm getting at? I would do this, but I don't have enough time. SuperDT 04:43, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Why I removed the Tamagotchi releases section
Excuse my language, but the Tamagotchi release section looked like pure, grade 'A' POOP. At the top, it says "this is a list of notable releases," yet every Tamagotchi released was on there! It contradicts itself! Second, the section read like a long, boring list (emphasis on LIST) of features; it should be paragraphs of interesting info. Last, there was so much unverified information and vandalism in it that it was almost unfixable.

Unless someone can make the release section look better than List of Tamagotchi Releases, please do not revert my changes. That is all. SuperDT 01:51, 17 October 2006 (UTC)


 * This section at the very least needs a one-paragraph summary of the list article. It isn't good to have a section consisting of nothing but a link elsewhere. Thryduulf 19:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree with Thryduulf. When I last accessed this article, it gave a detailed, interesting list of Tamagotchi releases. It would be very useful for someone to bring back the release list. Unfortunately I do not have the data to do it myself. Wikiert (talk) 17:48, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Links section
There is a huge amount of fan sites for the Tamagotchi and other vpets. Bandai, in general, provides very little solid information leaving a huge hole to fill (which is typically where the fan sites come in). Why is there no representation of these unofficial sites on the Wikipedia article?

Could there be an official links heading (populated with the various international Bandai sites) as well as an un-official or fan sites heading so as to distinguish and avoid confusion? 70.112.195.230 00:02, 26 November 2006 (UTC)vpetfan

If you can find any comprehensive unofficial links that conform to WP:EL, please post them right here. A good unofd editing. However, I haven't seen any of your edits in the Tamagotchi history...SuperDT 23:33, 14 February 2007 (UTC) you should relly try to love this pet not like pepole that hate them you know something these are computers to if you hate tamas u hate comuters.

Criticism section
A guest IP just removed the Criticism section from the article for no given reason, so I restored it. I can't see why it would be vandalism. Is there any valid reason why it should be removed? ShadowMan1od 01:41, 25 February 2007 (UTC)


 * It's considered vandalism, unless they put in the edit summary or the talk page their reason for deleting it. SuperDT 01:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

HOW LONG CAN IT LIVE?
IM ON THIS PAGE THAT TALKIN BOUT 0- TO 23+ YEAR BUT I THINK THEY MEAN DAY BY VIDEOGAME TIME? EITHER WAY NEED TO LIST MOR GAME MECHANIC —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.195.132.253 (talk) 04:41, 7 March 2007 (UTC).


 * While we would love to help you, this is not the place for discussing the article's subject, but rather for discussing changes to the article. Please refer to one of the many Tamagotchi forums for assistance to your question.  Thank you. SuperDT 01:09, 8 March 2007 (UTC)


 * And for the love of god, don't type in all-caps. <_< RememberMe? 11:23, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

When you have your Tamagotchi for a day, it turns a year old. They live for about a month. 67.38.240.59 (talk) 17:50, 13 January 2008 (UTC)Kinz Hey, I set the longest living Tamagotchi, anyway. 65.43.183.199 (talk) 01:29, 26 January 2008 (UTC)Kinz


 * I once managed to make my Connexion Version 2 live for 40 Tama-Years. Yes, I know this is not a forum, but if there is an article for Tamagotchi world records, please post any info about finding this article on my user page. Thank you. Wikiert (talk) 17:48, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Name Source
The Japanese Wikipedia says that Tamagotchi comes from Tamago + watch (and says that hence they were marketed with the romaji 'tamagotch' in Japan), yet the English one doesn't mention watch at all. How come there's this big discrepancy? --Mahogany h00r 03:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Odd, the article used to mention something about that, but I guess it got removed. If you want to, feel free to add it in ;)  SuperDT 02:39, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

I apologize if my constant "I want One" additions frustrated anyone. I figured since it came from a reliable source, that it would at least be worth adding. Mr. Justan 01:06, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Tamagtchi Wiki
I just made a Tamagotchi Wiki! (Superjustinbros. 00:06, 19 April 2007 (UTC))
 * Very cool! I'll contribute as much as I know.  SuperDT 01:45, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

We should add this link to the article! (Superjustinbros. 11:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC))
 * Not quite yet. Let's improve the Tama Wiki first, and then it'll be suitable :)  I've made an account on it, and ready to start making articlesSuperDT 14:16, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I can't get on the Tamagotchi Wiki! Superjustinbros. 17:02, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

When was the fad?
There should be a reference in the opening lines as to when it was ridiculously popular because that's what it's most famous for. I'm gathering from other details in the article that it was around the late 90's, but it should be specified. --Atkinson 06:24, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
 * 5 years later, this article is still lacking in this area. Boo! — RockMFR 01:23, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

meaning of the name?
"... combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago) which means "egg", and the English word "watch" (clock) ."

Is it just me or does this not make sense to anyone else? "Watch" and (clock)? What? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.147.29 (talk) 23:21, 23 September 2007 (UTC)
 * "Watch" as in timepiece or portable clock, not the verb "to watch." --Akronym 23:56, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

I've been told by various sources that Tamagochi is a portmanteau of "tamago" (egg) and "tomodachi" (friend), which seems to make more sense than egg-watch. Can anyone verify either version? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rougewisp (talk • contribs) 03:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
 * There are countless theories explaining the name, but egg + watch is the only one from an official source. The other theories are most likely just speculation from people not being able to read the explanation on Bandai's Japanese website. --Akronym (talk) 01:47, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Meaning of "Tamagotchi"
I learned recently that Tamagotchi is play on the words egg and friend in Japanese ("tamago" and "tomodachi", respectively). I was wondering if I could add this secondary meaning into the section? ShippoIsHip (talk) 02:38, 25 March 2008 (UTC)


 * This is what most people seemed to believe before anyone actually bothered reading/translating the official explanation of the name, and you will find it all over the web since for a long time it was the only explanation available here on Wikipedia. It was most likely made up by someone who knew five words in Japanese and thought tomodachi and tamagotchi sounded alike, even though the only kana or syllable the two words have in common is the "chi" at the end. たまごっち vs ともだち. There are thousands of other words ending with "chi" in Japanese. Also, where would the っ (the small pause represented by the t in "tamagotchi") come from? It just doesn't make sense, and unless you find an official source mentioning this meaning of the name, it should not be (re)added to the article. --Akronym (talk) 03:23, 25 March 2008 (UTC)


 * *I learned recently [from my Japanese teacher, who grew up in Japan] that Tamagotchi is a play on the words egg and friend in Japanese. Seeing as a Japanese person (who has much more knowledge on the Japanese language than I do at the moment, although I do know my hiragana and katakana) also believed this, I that it should at the very least be mentioned (but not as an actual definition). ShippoIsHip (talk) 04:49, 25 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Since there already is an official explanation from Bandai I don't think it would be unreasonable to draw the conclusion that the "egg-friend" one really isn't more than a popular misconception, so maybe if we mention it as such on the page? "A popular misconception is that..." and so on. As for your teacher, maybe he or she got that explanation from a western source (maybe even Wikipedia before it got corrected), because searching in Japanese on Google I only find the egg+watch one over and over again. --Akronym (talk) 13:33, 25 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Please, they did say play on words, so it is not "egg-friends", it really simply is a totally made-up word vs a known word, in Japanese:
 * {| class= wikitable


 * たまごっち: ||
 * ともだち: ||
 * }
 * Culture is a victim of translation, some things just do not come across the same way into the translated words.
 * Culturally, asians, chinese and japanese, via various methods, can relate words or expressions: phonetically, alliteration, homonym, visually similar, symbolically, or even numerically&mdash; this natural talent lends itself to even more excessive wordplay, to get through the great firewall in China, to express and communicate amongst themselves they have to resort to this to pass through the censoring filters or to avoid the rebuke from rather severe policing efforts.  WurmWoode  T   17:07, 5 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Culture is a victim of translation, some things just do not come across the same way into the translated words.
 * Culturally, asians, chinese and japanese, via various methods, can relate words or expressions: phonetically, alliteration, homonym, visually similar, symbolically, or even numerically&mdash; this natural talent lends itself to even more excessive wordplay, to get through the great firewall in China, to express and communicate amongst themselves they have to resort to this to pass through the censoring filters or to avoid the rebuke from rather severe policing efforts.  WurmWoode  T   17:07, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Current importance?
I think as for now, in 2008, Tamagotchis are literally dead as a pet (!) rock. Or am I so wrong? I seriously claim a student who brings this thing in school to get rather sarcastic remarks like, "Ah a blast from the past" or like, "Isn't this out of fashion for long now?" -andy 85.179.48.247 (talk) 13:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The remarks wouldn't be nearly as bad as those given to a person who actually says something like "Ah, a blast from the past!", hahaha! --24.252.91.45 (talk) 09:25, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Ig Noble Prize Research
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the Tamagotchi won the 1997 Ig Noble Prize in economics. I remember a chapter in the book "The Ig Noble Prizes 2" (which was an amalgamate of the awards) about Tamagotchis, so possible information could be extracted. Could someone do some more research on this?--Leetspeaker (talk) 20:53, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Ethical Issues
Consider the problem of emotional manipulation. Owner of the device has a false sense of attachment, a false sense of purpose and accomplishment when the device lives well and maybe reveals its secret character. The thing can emulate its dependence, but isn't unique and doesn't depend on the human. It's like an elderly person caring for a mechanical dog; buy it an animal that will live whether it's fed or not, and can give them a false sense of purpose and pride. How would the family feel? Maybe check this article: Fundamental Issues in Affective Intelligent Social Machines, pp.21-34 (14), Author: Brian R. Duffy, The Open Artificial Intelligence Journal Volume 2, ISSN: 1874-0618. MBCudmore (talk) 05:20, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Kid stuff
Tamagotchis are very fun for kids 8+ they r sold almost every wher i have one of these amasing u should go to thir factory to bye these cute nice litle pets they are relly fun they are just like real pets you clean up thir watse you play silly fun games and u feed them snacks or food go in stores and buy tamas now by:Osirys Martinez-Pesendiz any comments call (619)-237-1782 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.140.127.207 (talk) 22:14, 4 April 2009 (UTC)


 * What the heck am I reading, lol? 68.36.232.73 (talk) 19:59, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

This page now contains actual information.
It's still pretty incomplete, but it now contains 80% fewer sentence fragments and half-typed thoughts! You can now figure out pretty much what a Tamagotchi was and how it was used from reading this article. It would be nice if I knew some better ways to format the Life Cycle and Mechanics sections so they are not so spread out, but they're good enough. I personally don't subscribe to the philosophy that articles should contain as little actual information as possible so as to be easier reading, but I tried to make this concise while also containing a wealth of information that might be useful to someone's grandparent who has no idea what a Tamagotchi is or how it works. I've collected a few over the years, but I've got very limited knowledge of the more obscure Japanese ones, so I've mostly gone with the vague approach as to actual features of anything but the mainstream English ones. Those are really for their own articles (or that awful list) anyway. The section about other Tamagotchi video games was a travesty, so I removed the garbledygook and turned it into a list with a brief intro summary of the genres of the games. Probably still missing some games. And for the love of god, if you can't make a chronology of video game releases sound interesting in paragraph form, just don't do it. No one wants to wade through that. Adding veribage to information that is inherently boring and straightforward is like trying to polish a turd.

(Also removed the melodrama in the criticism section about the toy "always being in the child's consciousness" or some such tripe, as it was unsourced, stupid sounding, and it's already been stated that the toys were thought to be distracting.)

APBug (talk) 04:25, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

Need to have a section on popularity
A major thing is missing from this article: the reason why Tamagotchis are notable. For example, Tamagotchis were all the rage in the late 1990s or early 2000s (I can't remember which decade exactly) but were replaced by Pokemon and are now largely forgotten, much like Beanie Babies. It should be mentioned that Tamagotchis were a major fad among children in America and were included as part of McDonald's Happy Meals, like Beanie Babies were.

Fake/Other Toys. - OED entry - LCD screen
I would like to see mentioned, if my memory serves correctly, Tamagotchi is an official brand, but there where also many copycat toys made and released to cash in on the fad at around the same time, that were not official/real/brand Tamagotchi but alternative/fake/other ones, and I imagine there would have had huge sales of these other similar toys too, fueled by the real brand, they were all refereed to by kids as Tamagotchi but had different names to be sold under; I believe I had a "fake" one. I may add this and find reference if I time. "Tamagotchi" appears as its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, I think that's worthy of a mention, I've read it in a few places, people like to include that fact when writing about it. I can add the reference for that now. I'll add it here for now. The entry says "Tamagotchi - taməgɒtʃi - noun - trademark - an electronic toy displaying a digital image of a creature, which has to be looked after and responded to by the "owner" as if it were a pet. - Origin: Japanese..


 * Also, I believe the screen is Liquid-crystal display, or LCD. This isn't mentioned once, it does say the later ones used "grayscale" but doesn't mention what the screen for the original was, eg a one colour LCD screen with so many pixels and a background.

 Carl wev   11:59, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

Hardware?
Some reverse engineering has been done on the Tamagotchis, led by Natalie Silvanovich (see here conferences here and here. She has found some info about the microcontroller and the way some things are done (but not everything). Maybe someone should add a section about this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.121.68.155 (talk) 23:20, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Tamagotchi is a handheld smartphone??
Tamagotchi had no phone abilities in it, so why is it defined a smartphone? I believe this is a mistake.


 * I agree - article was altered by an IP user 3 days ago. I would describe them as hand held, electronic games. The article previously described them as digital pets, which I think it did for some time, close enough. I have reverted to that. Even if there is a new app version that can be used on modern smartphones, or on the off chance there is a new Tamagotchi phone I haven't heard of, it should be mentioned in the article clearly with a reference. To simply alter the article lead with no explanation or source, is incorrect, or at best, misleading, even if it was well intentioned.  Carlwev  17:18, 13 April 2022 (UTC)

Die
How to get a new tamagotchi 68.227.205.133 (talk) 19:34, 11 April 2023 (UTC)